NEW BUSINESS  13.

COMMITTEE MEMORANDUM

HISTORY:

On November 9, 2018, the City of Miami Beach unveiled its LGBTQ rainbow crosswalk at the intersection of 12 Street and Ocean Drive.

On December 12, 2018, City Commission referred a discussion to establish a monument/commemorative plaque at the rainbow crosswalk located at 12 Street and Ocean Drive to the Neighborhoods/Community Affairs Committee (“NCAC”).

At its January 28, 2019 NCAC meeting, the Committee referred the plaque design, verbiage and placement to the LGBTQ Advisory Committee (the “Advisory Committee”).

On April 24, 2019, the NCAC made a favorable recommendation, with revisions as to the plaque verbiage and placement, and referred the item to the Finance and Citywide Projects Committee (“FCWP”). The revisions included requests to gauge the feasibility of installing a pastel-colored mosaic plaque pedestal, and the feasibility of embedding a commemorative plaque onto the serpentine wall.

ANALYSIS:

A rainbow crosswalk on Ocean Drive and 12 Street has been an iconic testament to the City of Miami Beach’s LGBTQ community and a proud symbol of the urban island’s commitment to inclusiveness and equality, since 2014. A temporary rainbow crosswalk on the intersection of 12^th street and Ocean Drive was re-striped annually, until the City unveiled a permanent rainbow crosswalk installation in November 2018.

The City expressed a desire to capture the significance of the rainbow crosswalk with a commemorative plaque. Following direction from the NCAC, Administration investigated the feasibility of incorporating two design recommendations made at the Committee’s April 24^th meeting: Embed the rainbow crosswalk plaque into the serpentine wall or fabricate a plaque pedestal with pastel colored mosaics.

The cost for the design and fabrication of a cast bronze 12”x12” plaque is $2,000.00.

Proposed design option 1 to embed the plaque into the serpentine wall located in Lummus Park.  This option may require demolishing and rebuilding a portion of the wall to secure the plaque. Approval from the Historic Preservation Board will not be required. At the time of this memo, staff is obtaining cost estimates for option 1 to present to the committee.  After staff review, this is the preferred option.

Proposed design option 2, a pastel-colored mosaic pedestal can range upwards of $15,000.00, depending on the mosaic design. The Planning Department advised that design elements of a mosaic pattern would need to be reviewed. Should the Committee want to pursue this option, a mosaic pedestal would trigger the need for Historic Preservation Board approval.

In light of the NCAC’s favorable recommendation for a plaque monument, funding for the design and placement of the plaque needs to be identified. Estimated expenses will be provided at the meeting.

CONCLUSION:

Accept staff recommendation of moving forward with embedding the plaque into the serpentine wall, and direct staff to identity a funding source to complete this project.